Who wants to join the club where Obama’s the leader of the band?

Richard Fernandez:

Not unless you want a knife in the back. The late Russian oppositionist Boris Nemetsov speaking from beyond the grave in a September, 2013 Foreign Policy article said: “Obama is a Hollywood actor, a weak man with no balls. Nobody should ever expect him to help Russians seeking civil freedom.” Whether this is true or not, there seems little doubt that some perceive him in this way and in consequence are reluctant to follow him. All that may be left to Obama is meddlesome intervention in Third World countries like Colombia and the arbitrary exercises of presidential power at home, where he remains powerful. There he can indulge his sense of importance. But in Tikrit the Iranians aren’t even asking for his help.

The president who is publicly nursing his wounded honor in anticipation of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech is also the same president pathetically hanging on Tehran’s rulers every word, like a waiter expecting a tip. The Iranians themselves have characterized Obama as ‘desperate to reach a nuclear deal’, as if he were some loathesome toady. All the same he is counting on them to beat ISIS, having made a hash of his own efforts. What a crazy situation it is when an American president’s fortunes depend on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.